Under the Mistletoe
by Reina Ariadne
Summary: Gruvia fic. The festive spirit of Christmas Day causes Gray to realise that there was one person that he wants to spend it with...
1. Chapter 1: Uninvited guests

It was Christmas Day. It was snowing already, and the children were having fun in the white fluff, making snow angels and partaking in snowball fights. And of course, the most famous guild in the country of Magnolia stirred with excitement too.

A huge tree sat right in the middle of the guild's headquarters, complete with baubles,fairy lights and a huge, twinkling star in the shape of the guild's logo, Fairy Tail. The outside of the guild was decorated with tinsel and bright lights in red and green, lightly layered upon by fresh snow.

However, inside the guild, the guildmembers were anything BUT festive. 'Feisty' was a better word to describe them.

Bodies were flying, tables were flipped and scores of weapons were impaled in the wall behind the tree. And as usual, Natsu was on one of the tables having a full-out battle with Gray, Juvia silently rooting for her precious "Gray-sama" in the background. All around them, other small scuffles were breaking out, while a worried Mirajane and guild master Makarov watched on.

All of a sudden, the door flew open. Lyon, Sherrie, Yuka and Toby marched in, Lyon carrying a large, suspicious-looking sack over his shoulder. What's this, a showdown? Kidnapping? Body dumping?

"What do you want?" Natsu asked threateningly, momentarily forgetting his battle with Gray. All around the room, injured members staggered to their feet, glaring at the intruders. Mirajane took the chance to tend to the frozen, burnt, shot, stabbed and overall traumatised furniture.

"On behalf of Lamia Scale, we would like to wish Fairy Tail..." Lyon announced, setting the large bag down on the table,

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" they sang, throwing open the bag to reveal a large pile of beautifully-wrapped presents. The Fairy Tail guild members went slack-jawed in shock.

'Are you kidding me...?' Natsu thought to himself.

Was this a joke? Or a weapon hidden in the pile of presents?

"As a show of goodwill from my guild to yours, Lamia Scale would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and we hope to progress into the new year as allies." Lyon finished.

"And of course, I have a personal present for the lovely Juvia, specially picked out by me of course," Lyon winked at Juvia, pulling out a large diamond ring and slipping it onto her ring finger, then delicately kissed her long fingers.

The Fairy Tail members all sighed in exasperation. They should have known. Lyon was just tying to hit on Juvia! And in their own headquarters no less.

All of a sudden, their romantic exchange was interrupted by the least expected person. "What do you think you're doing, barging in uninvited, making some grand announcement with your stupid presents, then hitting on our guild member right in our own headquarters? Who knows, the ring might even be made of ice!" Gray raged, glaring at Lyon, before dragging Juvia behind him.

"Gray-sama..." Juvia looked up at her idol, awe and admiration shining in her deep blue eyes.

Lyon huffed. "The ring is pure diamond, Gray. And since when did you care so much anyway? Unless... Are you... Jealous?" Lyon looked slyly at Gray, his eyebrows raised. Juvia felt like all her unanswered prayers were finally coming true. He was jealous!

"Im not... I don't... Fine! Have it your way! And I don't care about you and Juvia! Just don't exploit your relationship in our guild!" Gray scoffed, turning around and marching out of the door. He didn't notice his shirt and pants was on the guild floor as his walked out into the cold.

Lyon stared after him, then shrugged and back to Juvia. "Ignore him. Let's get back to business, shall we? I promise I'll make you happy for the rest of your life," Lyon gave Juvia the most alluring look he could muster.

Juvia didn't hear a single word he said. Could it be that the reason Gray-sama didn't like her was because he thought she was in a relationship with Lyon?!


	2. Chapter 2: An Unfathomable Feeling

**Chapter Two: An unfathomable feeling.**

**Summary: Gray is confused about his conflicting feelings for Juvia... Which didn't end well for the couple passing by the window lol. Lyon also "makes his move" on Juvia at the same time.**

**A/n: To the friend I wrote this for. You better like it! XD**

* * *

Gray sat on the bed, staring at his hand, the one he used to pull Juvia away with. What was wrong with him? He had no interest in Juvia.

... Right?

Perhaps just seeing Lyon barge into his beloved guild made him a little overprotective. Yes, that must be it, Gray assured himself. There was no way he was in love with Juvia. Her beautiful, soft blue hair, the way it fell in perfect curls onto her shoulders. Her eyes, deep pools of blue that made him feel like he was drowning everytime he looked into them.

Gray mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking?! There was no way he was in love with Juvia.

But then again... Gray looked at his hand again. What was this unfathomable feeling he had towards her now? Was it really... Love? Just then, a couple on a bike decorated in right lights cycled past the window, the man yelling at the top of his voice, "Lets celebrate the Christmas cheer! Love is in the air and we'll all be kissin' under the mistletoe!" His female companion giggled happily behind him, clinging to his back.

Gray promptly froze the road in front of them and sent the couple skidding into the river.

* * *

- In the guild -

_Lyon stared after him, then shrugged and turned back to Juvia. "Ignore him. Let's get back to business, shall we? I promise I'll make you happy for the rest of your life," Lyon gave Juvia the most alluring look he could muster._

_Juvia didn't hear a single word he said. Could it be that the reason Gray-sama didn't like her was because he thought she was in a relationship with Lyon?!_

Meanwhile, Lyon was trying his best to get Juvia interested in him, instead of staring at the door with a dazed expression on her face, like she had been for the past hour. She had barely registered that Lucy had already left the guild headquarters half an hour ago.

"Would you do me the honour of going out with me?" Lyon (a little desperately) asked Juvia. She nodded dazedly, not hearing a word he said.

"Great! Do you want to go out? Shopping? A walk in the park? Ice skating?" Lyon asked. Juvia nodded dazedly. Lyon took that as "let's do all three!" and dragged her out, while the rest of his team mingled (fought) with the rest of the Fairy Tail members.

* * *

**A/n: This was a pretty short chapter, even for me. Basically I just wanted you to see how Gray argues with himself whether he's in love with Juvia or not, and to give you a little inside view of the next chapter. After this chapter though, you will see a lot of jumping back and forth between Gray, Lyon and Juvia's pov. I deeply apologise if it confuses you! I'll update the story if I have time! Even so please remember to review and let me know what you think! ;p**


	3. Chapter 3: Dates and Desperation

**Chapter 3: There's dates, and there's desperate.**

**Summary: A continuation of Chap 2 in gray's pov, before moving to Lyon's pov. Lyon's date with Juvia and some *hentai Gray action.**

**A/n: Gray may behave a little uncharacteristic near the end of the chapter, but lets just blame it on the festive spirit, ne? It makes everyone go a little nuts. Sometimes over someone else ;p**

* * *

_What was this unfathomable feeling he had towards her now? Was it really... Love? Just then, a couple on a bike decorated in bright and colorful lights cycled past the window, the man yelling at the top of his voice, "Lets celebrate the Christmas cheer! Love is in the air and we'll all be kissin' under the mistletoe!" while his female companion giggled happily behind him, clinging to his back._

_Gray promptly froze the road in front of them and sent them skidding into the ice-cold waters of the river._

Suddenly, the door flew open. Standing in the doorway was a busty blonde, wearing a revealing blouse with long, flared sleeves, blue skinny jeans and brown boots. Her hair was in two low ponytails, and her whip and celestial keys hung at her hip.

"What are you doing in my house again, Gray?!" Lucy yelled.

Gray smirked at her. "I come here more often than my own house, so i guess we could call it _our_ house," Gray winked at Lucy.

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. "Anyway, you left your clothes in the guild headquarters," she said.

"And... What you did for Juvia back there, it was..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But Juvia is really-"

"I _said_ I don't want to talk about it!" Gray growled. Taken aback, Lucy was too shocked to stop him as he stormed out of her house, ignoring the stares from curious passerbys wondering why he was walking down the street dressed only in his boxers in the middle of winter.

As Gray walked along the street, he saw something which caused him to immediately dash to hide behind a pillar. Lyon and Juvia were walking along the street, Lyon excitedly chattering-_ like a squirrel_, Gray thought smugly, and Juvia depressedly walking behind him, a gloomy black cloud hovering over her head. He swore he could practically see the rain and lightning crashing onto her head. He was somehow pleased to see that she wasn't enjoying it.

_Of course not, since she's in love with _me, Gray thought to himself. Then he shook his head, appalled at his thoughts. _Where had that come from? Was he really… Jealous?_

* * *

- During Lyon and Juvia's date-

_Damn that Gray! Why did he have to make my lovely Juvia infatuated with him?! If I ever see him again I'm going to kick his ass for it, damn that bastard! But at least... I get to spend many hours alone with my lovely Juvia! And she looks like she's enjoying it..._ Lyon looked at Juvia, who was staggering along with a dark cloud above her head.

_... Or not._ Those were Lyon's thoughts as he was on his date with Juvia.

Well, "date" to him, and "dead" to Juvia.

_Gray-sama! Where are you? I didn't mean to make you think I was in a relationship with... With... This guy! I didn't even know he liked me! Oh gray-sama, please come save me from this feeling of betrayal! I don't like him- _I love you!Those were Juvia's thoughts as she ate, shopped and ice-skated with Lyon.

It was turning out to be a date full of misery and misunderstandings.

Unbeknownst to the (un)happy couple, they were being followed by a strange hentai* wearing only his boxers and dressed as a dustbin. It wasn't a really good disguise as passerbys whispered and pointed at the weird hentai stalking the couple. But Gray paid no heed to them. As Juvia and Lyon walked, talked and shopped, he darted from pillar to pillar, tree to tree in order to follow the couple without them noticing.

As their date continued, Gray was starting to feel just a little self-conscious in his dustbin attire, and was thinking of returning to Lucy's house to hang out with Natsu and Erza, who were probably already there waiting for him.

_Well, at least until they finish their so-called "date". I have to make sure that that stupid Lyon doesn't do anything untoward to Juvia, _Gray told himself. Since when did he care so much about her? He vaguely remembered that only a few days ago, he barely noticed when she had cut herself when cutting fruit for him.

_Cuttign fruit for him… _Gray realized that this whole time, she was showing her affection for him, yet he hadn't noticed. Gray mentally slapped himself again, but this time for a different reason.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Gray chided himself. How could he not have noticed?! All the times she did something nice for him, getting his food for him when they were having meals together, making *bento for him when he was about to leave for a mission… All this time she was trying to show her affection for him, and he hadn't acknowledged it!

_…How _could_ he…!_

At that moment, Gray finally admitted what his heart had been telling him since that morning. He loved her. He loved her ever since the day he set eyes on her, but his stupid, _stupid _pride and cold personality wouldn't let him tell her that he loved her back. He swore to himself, by the end of today, Juvia would officially be his, and she would know exactly how much he loved her, and he never wanted to let her go, or regret not telling her ever again.

And he'd be damned if he would let that retarded Lyon, who hadn't a clue in his pompous head that she didn't have an ounce of feelings for him stop him.

Suddenly understanding how Natsu felt when he was all "fired up", Gray charged down the street, not caring anymore who saw him, and roared, "LYON! I'm coming to get you! Where are you?! RETURN JUVIA TO ME!"

* * *

***hentai:** Japanese for pervert.

**A/n: Like I said, Gray's behaving very not-himself today. But I find it cute, what about you? I mean, people should show some emotion once in a while. Especially when trying to woo a girl ****_back _****from his childhood arch-rival.**

**Anyways, please review and maybe tell me how I can improve the story.**


	4. Chapter 4: Hentais and Ice Battles

**Chap 4: Hentais and Ice Battles**

**Summary: Finally! A showdown between Lyon and Gray for Juvia! Quite out-of-character for Gray's part.**

**A/n: The last chapter! Fun but tiring to rush this before 00:00 XD The confession I hope you've all been waiting for :3**

* * *

It was late evening when Lyon and Juvia reached the centre of the town square, where a huge, tall, elaborately-decorated Christmas tree stood, and strings of mistletoe were hung up all around the square, when Gray suddenly came charging towards them.

"LYON!" Gray roared. "Let's have a battle for Juvia! Right here, right _now."_

Lyon just gaped at him in shock. Finally, having recovered his voice, he stuttered, "Wh... what? Gray, is that you? And why are you dressed like a dustbin?"

"Doesn't matter, Lyon! But give Juvia back to me. It's obvious she doesn't love you!"

Now Lyon was pissed. "What are you talking about, Gray?!" he yelled back. "I thought you said you didn't like her!"

By then, many passerbys had started to gather around them, many whispering about and taking photos of the couple talking to a hentai dressed as a dustbin.

Gray looked at Juvia. "I used to think I didn't like you, but I was wrong. My ego prevented me from seeing that the one I truly loved was you, Juvia, and no one else. I'm just sorry for not realizing that sooner." Gray raised his voice a little. "But now, I'm gonna fight this bastard to get you back if I have to. I will prove my love to you, Juvia!"

"_What did you just say?! _If you want to fight me, so be it! But I promise you Gray, I won't lose to a girlfriend-stealing lowlife like you!" Lyon raised his arms and placed them into the stance he used for his "Ice-make" magic.

"Oh, so now we're getting serious. But I will get Juvia back. She doesn't deserve a pathetic loser like you, who makes empty promises and is so full of himself he can't see that the girl he likes doesn't like him back!" Gray sneered, going into the same stance Lyon was in.

Lyon was livid with anger, his face red from anger and embarrassment for being insulted in front of so many people. "We'll see about that'" he growled, "but take off that ridiculous outfit first. I'll never live it down if I was seen fighting a dustbin."

Gray scoffed. "Doesn't matter," he said, "I'll defeat you anyway. You ready?"

In unison, they shouted, "Ice Make-!", both tearing off their clothes at the same time.

* * *

Juvia felt like she was in a dream. Gray was in love with her! She felt like flying, or floating, or doing something equally impossible. She was so caught up in her own daydreams that she didn't notice Gray and Lyon fighting right in front of her…

Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray yelled. He swung his arm down in an arc to bring the large ice hammer down on Lyon.

Lyon dodged it, and rolling into a crouching position, he put one fist one his other palm and shouted, "Ice Make: Ape!" A giant, greenish-blue ape appeared and attempted to smash Gray with an enormous fist, who blocked it with an "Ice Make: Shield!", then destroyed the gorilla with spears made from ice.

Next, Gray attacked Lyon with his Ice Geyser, but Lyon jumped away in the nick of time, sending an ice-eagle at Gray. Gray smashed it with another hammer, and dodged another ice-dragon Lyon sent at him in quick succession.

Using "Ice Make: Prison!" Gray slammed a large cage made of ice over Lyon. "It's over now. Admit defeat and accept that Juvia wants me and not you," Gray stated.

Lyon grinned. "Just because you trapped me with this once before, doesn't mean you can trap me again. I won't fall for the same trick twice, Gray. Ice-Make: Puffer Fish!" A huge turquoise puffer fish rammed itself into the bars of the ice cage, shattering it into a million pieces.

Shocked, Gray leaped back, just as Lyon encased his hand in ice, shaped like a wolf, and started furiously attacking Gray. All around them were smashed fountains, smoking holes in the pillars, and strings of mistletoe lay trampled and forgotten on the ground. Miraculously, the Christmas tree in the middle of the square was still unharmed.

* * *

It was nighttime by the time Juvia snapped out of her daydream and noticed that Lyon and Gray were fighting. _Over… Me? _She thought breathlessly. The lights decorating the Christmas tree and the rest of the town had been lit already, making the square a breathtakingly beautiful scene to look at.

… If not for the two half-naked teens fighting in front of said Christmas tree, amidst the shards of ice and smoking holes strewn all over the town square.

The people who had stopped to watch the fight were all in a panic, trying to avoid being hit by their attacks or the resulting flying shards of ice. The rest were still ogling at the two teens wearing only their boxers, fighting in negative degree temperatures on the night of Christmas Eve. Juvia decided that they were causing too much damage to their surroundings, and to innocent civilians as well, and moved to stop the fight. She was touched that the two men were fighting over her, but her heart would forever still belong to Gray-sama.

"Stop!" she cried, just as Lyon and Gray were about to punch each other in the face- they had stopped using their ice magic, and resorted to a childish fistfight.

"Lyon…san," Juvia decided to address him as that, "I appreciate that you've spent such an effort to give me a memorable Christmas, but… I cant accept this ring," she murmured, pulling off the diamond ring that he had given her this morning and handing it back to him. Lyon accepted the ring without a word.

"After today, after seeing you two fight, I've realized now, more than ever… That my heart is Gray-sama's, and no one else's," Juvia smiled at him.

Lyon stared at her in shock, then cleared his throat. "If… If it's Juvia-chan's wish, then I shall abide by it," he announced grudgingly.

"Take care of her," he warned Gray, before stalking off back to Fairy Tail, hoping that he would be able to leave quietly and that none of the Fairy Tail members would ask him why he didn't come back with Juvia.

After Lyon left, Gray turned to Juvia. "Ju… Juvia? Did you mean what you said? That your heart still belongs to me?"

"It does, Gray-sama." Juvia looked up at him, hope and adoration shining in the deep blue eyes he had come to love so much.

"I'm sorry, Juvia," Gray whispered. "I shouldn't have taken so long to realize." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him. Then he bent his head to whisper in her ear, his breath tickling her neck, "I won't let you go ever again, I promise."

At that moment, the fireworks that were lit every year to celebrate the last holiday of the season went off, causing them to momentarily jump apart in shock. Then they smiled and moved into each other's embrace again. Gray grinned at her, then slowly, almost nervously bent his head down again, their lips moving closer to the other, inch by inch.

And among the destruction and rubble all around them, a single string of mistletoe, which, by perhaps the hand of Fate, had survived the epic battle only moments before hanging above their heads, their lips met in a kiss in front of the Christmas tree, the lights shining on their faces creating a halo around them, the perfect ending to the perfect Christmas.

* * *

**A/n: Firstly, to the friend I wrote this for: SEE THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU. Haha. You have no idea how hard it was trying to balance Gray between... Well, Gray-ness and fluffiness :3 **

**Secondly, to all other readers, this was definitely not one of my better fics, and I promise that I will update and make it better in time. To help me in improving my past, present and future fic, please read and review to your heart's content, thank you! :)**


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